Murphy's Law
by Keynn
Summary: AU - On Saturday nights Ladybug sings at an off-main street bar called Murphy's Law. - LadyNoir; DJWifi
1. Chapter 1

**Murphy's Law**

 _LadyNoir/Ladrien/MariChat/Adrienette (also DJWifi)_

* * *

Marinette is feeling pretty good on Saturday night. The beat of the bass guitar is vibrating under her feet, the air is musky and laced with cigarette smoke, there's street chatter coming in from the open door of the bar. She's soaking it all in, her eyes dancing around the near empty quarters of Murphy's Law - she's a regular now, she's got her own slot, it's everything she never knew she wanted.

"Give it up," says Nino, the bar's resident DJ, drawing the attention of the patrons.

He's been doing this gig for years, he tells her (with a grin) when Marinette first shows up to Murphy's Law, months earlier, hoping for nothing in particular. Marinette knows him, of course, DJ Bubbler has a prime-time slot on 105.1, the most popular radio station in the city. His remixes, mash-ups and original works are wildly popular. According to Nino, though, he DJs at Murphy's Law because it's where he got his start, and he's loyal to the owner, an enigmatic shadow of a man. Marinette likes DJ Bubbler a lot, too, even though their styles of music aren't quite the same. Marinette – no not Marinette, Ladybug – works mostly with vocals, low and sultry, everything else is background.

Marinette snaps out of her daze when Nino spreads his hand out to her, "for the marvelous," he smiles, "the mysterious, the _miraculous_ : Ladybug!" He scratches his record once and then steps away from the DJ booth in the back of the bar as Marinette walks up to the mic on the main stage – Murphy's Law is active with the sounds of scrapping bar stools, clinking beer bottles, most people in the room turn to her. As the lights dim, Marinette wraps her hands around the mic, lips nearly pressed against it. The first few notes are plucked on the bass behind her, then the piano player starts up, then the violin.

Behind the mask, the make-up, Marinette feels free from herself. Her lips are red, her dress is red, her blood is red coursing through her with waves of adrenaline. Red, thinks Marinette; the color of confidence. When she is singing as Ladybug, Marinette barely exists, and for one night she feels sure of herself and it is enough.

Ladybug takes a breath, catches a glimpse of a man on a stool in the far corner, glittering green eyes. She gives him a coy smile.

And then, she sings.

* * *

 _Cross-posted at ao3 and Tumblr. I'm looking forward to this story! It won't be too long, but hopefully y'all will enjoy it. Future chapters will be longer, this is essentially just a intro chapter._

 _Please feel free to leave comments/reviews/what have you!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Murphy's Law**

* * *

On Monday morning, Marinette is not doing so hot.

"Girl!" Alya grins, poking Marinette playfully in the ribs.

Alya, a social media marketing expert for Gabriel Agreste's brand, is Marinette's best friend. In fact, Alya could naturally be anyone's best friend – she's just that kind of person – so Marinette is glad that she's the lucky one; but at this particular moment, she just wants to drown, and Alya is like that one lifeguard who comes to the rescue and drags you out of the ocean, kicking and screaming.

Marinette groans, and falls forward on her desk, determined not to look up, over, or any other direction. "It's not that bad," says Alya after a moment of no movement. She grabs a spare chair from the cube next to Marinette's, pulls it up and plops into it, resting a hand on Marinette's knee.

"Mr. Agreste barely looked at them," Marinette says, her voice muffled by the desk. She is hunched over on it, head in arms. Alya blows out a sigh.

"Did he hand your sketchbook back to you?" Alya asks. For a beat neither of them speaks, and then slowly, Marinette lifts her head from her desk and shakes it. "There?" says Alya, "See? So there's nothing to worry about. He'll look at your designs and I'm sure he'll love them; he's just a very busy guy."

"You think so?" Marinette mutters.

"Of course!" Alya beams. "Now! We're done with the pity party-" Alya pointedly ignores the face Marinette makes as she pulls out her phone, shoving it into Marinette's hand, "I have something to show you~!"

Marinette throws Alya a perplexed look and then her eyes flicker down to the phone. It's not so much that she's nervous or confused, it's more like been thrown off guard – and Marinette has been thrown off guard enough in her life that she thinks, by now, she'd be used to it. It seems only fair that the universe would grant her that one small reprise … but it doesn't. When Marinette looks back up at Alya, her friend is nearly glowing with glee.

"That," says Alya, tapping the phone, the picture therein, and then gingerly retrieving it from Marinette's hands. Marinette's not particularly offended; she's broken five of her own phones in the past three years and at least two of Alya's. "-is Ladybug, have you heard of her?" Marinette's never been a very good liar, so she's really trying to come up with something, _anything_ , when Alya cuts in and saves her, musing aloud: "probably not, she's not very popular … yet." Alya's off on something, never a good sign, and Marinette's almost afraid to ask, but she pipes in anyway:

"Yet?" she echoes, nervous.

"I'm going to write an article on her," says Alya, and Marinette's blood runs cold. Alya is also a freelance lifestyle journalist for a magazine, _Harmonic_ , which is a still-growing, but (in no uncertain terms) successful Arts and Music publication. "We have to see her, Mari, she's amazing. And thanks to one Adrien Agreste, I've already got the inside scoop." Alya winks for good measure, Marinette's head is still spinning. Ladybug's a small fry who performs in a smaller hole in the wall. Who would want to write about that? And why would Adrien be a good source? Marinette's face goes bright red when she thinks about him, and she stutters out: "w-what's he got to do with this?" Alya, being the good little information seeker that she is gives her friend a mischievous grin.

"He owns Murphy's Law – the place Ladybug sings at," she says, conspicuously glancing around, when Marinette gives her a skeptical look, Alya sighs, "I'll fill you in, let's go to lunch?"

Marinette's not sure what she was expecting from Alya; the girl really knows her stuff … and Marinette had never actually met the owner of Murphy's Law, only received payment from him via Nino. She's only ever there on Saturdays anyway, it's hard to find time to meet a person when she spends so little time in a place. She feels stupid and maybe a little embarrassed. Ladybug wouldn't be embarrassed, though, Marinette tells herself. And Adrien has probably never seen her preform. He's a model, a person can own a place and rarely be there. That's not unheard of; high profile people do it all the time!

"Marinette?" Alya frowns, "you're hyperventilating…"

"I'm fine!" she says, a little too loud. Alya, skeptical, chooses not to pry.

"Anyway…" she says, continuing on with their earlier conversation. Marinette takes large bites out of her sandwich, to distract herself from her crumbling world, and pretends to be okay. "I'm pretty sure Mr. Agreste doesn't know about Murphy's Law, you know, unbecoming and all that. Adrien agreed to meet with me for a private interview. I'm to leave his name out of the story. Which is fine by me, this one's all about Ladybug, anyway."

Downtown is vibrant with life. From their spot on the patio of their favorite panini place, Marinette has a good vantage point of Gabriel Agreste's skyscraper, of the trade center, of three bridges, and a water feature in the middle of the business plaza. Pigeons are waddling around, too happy and too pudgy to get very far of the ground. It's a good day. If Marinette and Alya get up, walk five streets down, turn left and walk half a mile they'll end up at Murphy's Law.

Murphy's Law, thinks Marinette, anything that can go wrong, will naturally do so. The irony would be hilarious to anyone else.

"What if," says Marinette, careful not to seem like she's throwing water on Alya's fire, "you know, what if, Ladybug doesn't _want_ to be in the magazine?" Alya pretends to think on it for a moment and then she shrugs, taking a bit of her panino.

"I won't force her into it," says Alya, "but this story could really be my breakout into lifestyle journalism so I'm going to do everything I can to win her over." Her friend is crazy determined, and Marinette knows immediately that she can't stop Alya from achieving her dreams if she's got any say. Alya's great at her job for Mr. Agreste, but fashion is Marinette's dream. Not Alya's. This magazine, it could be everything Alya wants. Marinette laughs and gives Alya a smile.

"You're great," she says, "who could ever deny you?" Alya gives her a wink.

"That's the hope," Alya grins, "and on that note … please say you'll come with me on Saturday to see her? Please?"

Marinette runs her hands through her hair, glances to the side. She's a terrible friend, she feels awful for lying, but what can she say?

"Ah," she stutters, "I can't this weekend, I have to help my parents with a really big order!" Her smile is too big, she knows. Alya crosses her arms.

"Boo," she says. "you're definitely going next time."

Marinette, afraid to say anything incriminating, gives a nervous chuckle instead.

* * *

 _A little world building in this chapter. Also Alya. Because Alya. Next chapter will feature more Chat Noir/Adrien ... in case anyone missed it in the first chapter, those glittering green eyes were his ;P (I don't think it's any big secret to confirm that here)._

 _Please feel free to ask questions/leave comments/criticisms/etc, those are always appreciated._

 _Next update will probably be in a week or so. This update came so quickly simply because the first chapter was very short, and I thought it'd be best to give the story a little more substance before I got on a regular update schedule._

 _As always, enjoy!_


	3. Chapter 3

Chat Noir meets Ladybug a block from Murphy's Law to offer a toothy grin and congratulations.

"Rumor has it you've attracted the attention of a certain journalist," he says, his face inches from hers, "you must be purring with anticipation." Marinette – Ladybug – laughs; pulls the top hat he's wearing over his masked eyes.

Chat Noir is a piano player – a very talented piano player; arguably the most talented piano player Marinette has ever heard, barring Adrien Agreste; it's really not fair to compare them though, Adrien has been playing piano all his life and plays as a profession, too. Chat Noir is also a raging flirt, a good friend – golden-hearted to the core – and a ridiculous accessorizer. He tips the hat back up and grins sheepishly, stepping back, but only just marginally.

"I don't know what you're talking about, little kitty," says Ladybug, she's lying of course, but it comes easier to her this time. Chat Noir looks aghast as he follows her down the street.

"Alya Cesaire!" he says, over her shoulder, "she'll be here tonight, you should keep an eye on her stuff, I have a feeling she's going to be very, very big one day."

Marinette smiles and is glad her back is to Chat or else she worries he'd question it. Alya will be successful – already is – she can only continue to go up from here.

"If you want to be successful in the music industry, it's good to have contacts in the media," Chat continues, at her side now, he winks down at her and Marinette might have blushed but Ladybug won't allow it, she smiles easily.

"I'm not trying to be famous, Chat," she says, "I just …" she considers telling him that she just wants to feel confident, that she wanted to prove something to herself, that she loves music, but all of these topics delve too close to her heart, to her life, to those prickly subjects they've both said they'll avoid telling each other. It's fun, she doesn't want to ruin it, so she laughs a little, says instead, "I just like to sing." Chat's eyes flicker down to her, but he doesn't comment on the stutter or the change in tone.

When they reach the bar, he opens the door for her, purrs "after you, my lady."

Murphy's Law is much busier than usual. The bartenders and wait-staff are shuffling about in a small frenzy. From his booth, Nino waves to them both briefly before returning to his beats. Chat Noir glances around until he catches sight of red gradient hair. Discreetly he nudges Ladybug's arm and points. Alya is bent over her laptop, writing furiously, a couple of patrons are talking to her and she's bobbing her head, talking even, but not looking up.

It takes Marinette a moment before she realizes that Alya probably announced that she'd be here in advance on her personal blog, it'd certainly explain the increased popularity. Marinette finds that she feels nervous without knowing why, exactly. She pushes it down, looks at Chat.

"You should probably get to the piano," she says with a grin. Chat Noir plays the in-betweens of sets; an actual employee of Murphy's Law, not just an act, but he's popular and people come to see him, too.

Marinette had come to see him; had walked past Murphy's Law one sunny Saturday afternoon to hear him through the open door of the place, playing, of all things, a jaunty rendition of a popular pop song. Marinette had stayed until he'd ended his set to let the main act of the evening (Nino) set up; she'd been enthralled.

"What'd you think, princess?" He had smiled afterward, approaching her, raising his eyebrows ridiculously, and the spell had been broken.

"Whatever the lady wants," says Chat, bringing Marinette back. He flashes her another winsome smile and saunters to the piano.

When Nino sees that Chat is at the piano his tempo increases in a medley of hard bass and vocals until the song runs its course, then he gives his sign off, welcomes Chat onto the stool and turns off his table. The bar erupts in applause for Nino and then the volume increases as chatter and conversation breaks out. Marinette thinks it's a crying shame that no one listens to Chat as he runs his fingers smoothly over the keys of the piano, but it never seems to bother him that his music is reduced to background noise. It's like he's playing to an invisible audience, his hands flourishing up at the end of a staccato note, and he grins when he catches anyone's eyes.

Marinette sidles past Alya to avoid being seen and heads to the back room. She's still not sure what she'll say when her friend asks her for an interview. She's sure that it won't go well, afraid that she'll stutter, or worse, say something she shouldn't.

Breathe, Marinette, she thinks to herself, sitting down on a chair. She rests her head against the wall behind her, closes her eyes and listens to Chat. An hour passes like this, enough to calm her nerves, and then the piano fades away. She blinks when Chat addresses the bar.

"Murphy's Law is paw-leased to welcome back the beautiful, Ladybug," he's saying, his voice muffled through the closed door. Marinette dusts off her dress, breathes deeply through her nose and exits out the door closes to the stage. She waves and smiles when Chat directs the bar's attention to her with a sweep of his hand.

Ladybug steps up on stage just as Chat is about to hop off, but with a quick glance around the room she turns quickly to him.

"Do you know where Juleka is?" she whispers, to which Chat looks around, confused, and shrugs. Juleka, the bass guitar accompanist is nowhere in sight. They both glance around again, for confirmation, but she's not there, they both know. Ladybug bites her lip. Will she have to sing alone? She doesn't know that her voice can compensate for an instrument. Even when she uses them sparingly, she still uses them.

Chat scratches his neck and sighs dramatically, drawing Ladybug's attention. His eyes are bright green and michevious but his smile is sincere and she can see the crinkles of it at the edge of his mask.

"Worry not, my lady," he says, saving Marinette and not even knowing it.

He grabs the sheet music from Juleka's stand, flipping through it until he finds the piano part and then waves it about with a grin. "I'll play the piano part for you." Whispering, Marinette turns her back to the bar.

"Can you sight read, what if I change the tempo?" she asks, surprised.

"Music with lyrics is usually pretty easy, technically," says Chat, "don't worry about it, just do your thing."

Ladybug looks radiant when she nods at him, turns back around, the people on the floor are clearly a little impatient. Chat watches as she locks eyes with them.

"Sorry," she says, "my band mate isn't here tonight."

Just as the crowd is about to collectively aww, Ladybug pushes through, "but Chat Noir here is going to fill in for her," a breath, Chat isn't sure if it's her or his, "so give him a round of applause for being a hero."

She flashes him a smile over her shoulder as the applauds shower him. And he feels warm in the stomach and he knows exactly why.

Out of habit he stands from the piano and bends at the waist to bow.

* * *

 _A long awaited update because I'm a bad author and am only motivated once in in a blue moon. I hope y'all enjoy! I'll try to be quicker next time... Haha. Please leave reviews and such, let me know what you think!_


End file.
